Time is the most valuable thing to spend
As a former production manager from the theater industry, it is ingrained in me to always create (and to rely heavily on!) a production calendar for every major project that I work on. Carrying over this habit from theater into museum and exhibit planning has been invaluable.
A production calendar is a shared calendar (I use Google Calendar) that is viewable by all the key parties of the project – museum staff, consultants, designers, fabricators, etc. – so that everyone can stay informed and stay united toward the project’s progress.
As much as possible, the production calendar clearly defines the phases and progress points of all different elements of the project, so that everyone has not only a specialized view of where their own contributions fit into the timeline, but also the “wide-angle lens” view of how all the different contributions fit together. It keeps everyone “honest,” too – when your deadlines are visible for everyone to see, it’s a great motivator to reach those goals and to keep moving forward.
The calendar is initially created with all of our well-intentioned timelines in mind, but it’s important to also remember that the calendar is a “living document” – despite our best planning, some changes will always be necessary. No matter how much we plan and try to think through everything in advance, timelines do change. In such a major undertaking as a new exhibit launch or an entirely new museum, there are so many moving parts that are interconnected and can cause unexpected delays. Building permits, fire marshal inspections, change orders, missing pieces. I’ve even been faced with significant timeline adjustments due to dry weather. Dry weather? Yep, dry weather.
During one recent installation, the air was so unusually dry that our mural artist’s paint was drying more quickly than she could blend the colors. After a few days of frustration and re-dos, she eventually had to adapt her design and employ a completely different painting technique that did not include blending. Obviously, this unforeseen obstacle meant a change to our mural completion timeline, which in turn impacted the timelines of the exhibit installation directly in front of the mural and of the carpet to be installed in that room. We were able to make real-time adjustments to the calendar as the situation developed, however; with all departments having eyes on the calendar, it allowed for honest conversations to take place soon enough so that others could understand the impacts to their areas and could adjust accordingly.
Adjustments like the one we made for that mural are also a good reminder that it is critical to factor in plenty of time for just… letting the process develop. Time to think, time to let ideas germinate. We need to allow ourselves the time to do it right and not to push the process. Was the new mural technique even more stunning and creative than the original one would have been? It sure was! Early on in the planning and concept development stage, too, it’s so valuable to take the time to dig deep, to focus on the real play value of the exhibits, and then to design and redesign until you know you’ve got it right.
Great results do take time and do take the efforts of the whole team, but having everyone on the same page with how things are progressing can make the difference between all of the elements coming together like a beautifully choreographed dance rather than like a crowd of individuals separately racing for the finish line. And a seemingly simple thing like a shared production calendar can be that key factor in bringing everyone together.
